Select-fire Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

MAS Type 62: France Does the FAL, With a Twist

February 21, 2022 Ian McCollum 35

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, France was seriously considering joining the NATO small arms standardization. They were equipped with the MAS 49/56 semiauto rifle at this point, and were looking at three possibilities: […]

Bren 2: CZ Refines Every Aspect of the 805

February 14, 2022 Ian McCollum 18

Launched in 2016, the Bren 2 was a significant upgrade program over the original Bren 805 rifle. In addition to being offered in both 5.56mm and 7.62x39mm with user-changeable barrels, the Bren 2 was […]

Bren 805: A Rifle for the Post-Communist Czech Army

February 7, 2022 Ian McCollum 34

With the Velvet Revolution and the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia, a new Czech Republic immediately looked to NATO membership. This would require rearming the Czech Army with a rifle in 5.56mm NATO. After some […]

Belgian Black Rifle: the FNC at the Range

November 13, 2021 Ian McCollum 29

Today, we’re taking the FN FNC out to the range to see how it handles…

FN FNC: The Belgian 5.56mm NATO Carbine

November 12, 2021 Ian McCollum 50

The FNC (Fabrique Nationale Carabine) was FN’s followup to the unsuccessful CAL rifle. Chambered for the newly-adopted 5.56mm NATO cartridge, the FNC uses a long stroke gas piston system very reminiscent of the AK, combined […]

RK95: Finland’s Ultimate AK

October 13, 2021 Ian McCollum 14

Finland adopted the AK in 7.62x39mm after World War Two, and continues to use the AK to this day. The standard pattern RK62 was starting to fall a bit short, and so in the late […]

Throwback Thursday: Cei Rigotti Rifle Disassembly

August 19, 2021 Ian McCollum 14

The Cei Rigotti is a fascinating early Italian self-loading rifle design that was tested in several countries, but never adopted or put into production. I had a chance to disassemble one at the British REME […]

How to Swap FAMAS Ejection Left to Right

July 29, 2021 Ian McCollum 12

One of the very nice features of the FAMAS is that it can be swapped between left-hand and right-hand ejection in just a few moments without needing any tools or spare parts. I had this […]

Mini-Beryl: The Carbine Version of the Polish wz.96

July 27, 2021 Ian McCollum 11

Yesterday we looked at the standard Polish service rifle, the wz.96 Beryl. Today we have the carbine version, the Mini-Beryl. Specifically, we have an early example, predating several of the mid-life improvements that were made […]

wz.96 Beryl: Poland’s 5.56mm Military AK

July 26, 2021 Ian McCollum 23

With Poland’s entry into NATO in the 1990s, a new service rifles was needed, chambered for the 5.56mm NATO cartridge. Initial development work had been done in 1990/91 to adapt the wz.88 Tantal to 5.56mm, […]